The Cooper Temple Clause

The Cooper Temple Clause were a five-piece post-hardcore band originating from Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Formed in the late 1990s, the band quickly gained a following through their live concerts, and produced three albums.

The quintet’s name is an obscure reference to a 19th century British Parliamentary law amendment, known as the “Cowper-Temple clause” (“Cowper” pronounced as “Cooper”), after its author, English politician William Francis Cowper-Temple, Baron Mount-Temple. This amendment, introduced into the second reading of the Education Bill of 1870, decreed that no catechism nor denominational teaching of any kind should be included in the religious instruction given in rate-aided schools.

After signing a record deal with the RCA label in 2000 and putting out several singles and EPs, their debut album See This Through and Leave was released in 2002 to great critical acclaim. 2003’s follow-up, Kick Up the Fire, and Let the Flames Break Loose, achieved the band international recognition on the strength of the singles “Promises, Promises” and “Blind Pilots”. The Cooper Temple Clause left RCA in 2006, signing to Sanctuary Records for the release of their third album Make This Your Own in 2007.

In September 2005, bassist Didz Hammond left the band to join ex-Libertine Carl Barât in the band Dirty Pretty Things. The Cooper Temple Clause continued as a five-piece, continuing to tour during 2006 and releasing their third studio album in early 2007. However, in late April 2007 the band announced they had split up amicably, following guitarist Daniel Fisher’s decision to leave. Former member Tom Bellamy turned his attention to the electronic aspects of music that the band had always incorporated into their sound, building up a reputation for his remixes and original pieces under the alias of “Rhysmix”. It is not clear what the other former members of the band plan on doing in the future.